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The four Ps of mobile

How best to explain the power of mobile in 2014? What factors make for a successful mobile start-up?

Here are the four Ps of mobile.

Before we list the four P's, credit where it's due. I gleaned this list from Martin Mignot of Index Ventures. He was discussing mobile, along with some entrepreneurs, at an event hosted by Quartz and General Assembly at London's Tech Week.

Penetration

This P sounds better in Martin's Swiss accent.

The penetration of smartphones has been the key factor for services like Uber. Martin described the smartphone as free infrastructure for a business. Suddenly every person with a car or moped and a smartphone is, for example, a potential delivery man.

Smartphone penetration in 2013 was 56.4% for the US, which is higher than most European countries. It's arguably only in the past two years that penetration has hit the mark where businesses are enabled through this network of smartphone owners.

Performance

WiFi availability, 3G and 4G, improved CPUs. All these things contribute to devices that are now capable of handling the tasks we demand of them.

Prosumer

This is a portmanteau of professional and consumer.

Martin cited Dropbox as an example of this. New companies are increasingly heading to market with a consumer offering and later moving towards enterprise, once advocates are established.

Polymorphous

The main uses of mobile are somewhat cornered. Martin cited transport and communications as markets already saturated with lots of mobile solutions. So what is next?

Well, there are other markets to be tackled, use cases we haven't fully explored. And, of course, there are other smart devices. Wearables and devices that interact with your phone may kickstart the next wave of polymorphous problem solving.

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